Chapter 9
"What about a 401k or something?" Manning said as he paced back and forth in the room where the group of nearly retired agents sat after having handed him a list of demands. He sighed and slammed it onto the table. "I can't do all of that! I can't!"
"Well, that's the only way you're going to reel us back in," Red commented as he pulled Liz closer to him. The two turned and stared at Abe and Nuala happily. Dr. Krauss sat in the corner, looking over the list and muttering to himself. "In fact, I think I'd like to add a clause that says you have to stop whining at me."
"Do you have any idea what it would do to us to give you everything on this list? A raise in pay including paid leave for family and maternity?" Manning said giving a harsh look to Liz. The girl shrugged and smiled. "Options for alternative health care?" Nuala smiled and grasped Abe's hand. "A congressional hearing to declare your marriages as being recognized by the United States including a lobbyist on behalf of paranormal beings?" Manning exclaimed.
"I added that one," Krauss added excitedly.
"And as if that wasn't enough, you want me to have them build a new facility in a place more conducive to raising a large family?!" Manning threw the papers down on the table once again. "What is wrong with you people?! Do you have any idea what I do for you every day?"
"Thanks for calling us people, Tom, but we need to be treated like people and not just called people," Liz said standing and leaning over the table to glare at him. "So, when can we expect you to draw up the new contracts?"
"This is ridiculous, you guys," Manning sputtered as he flipped thoughtlessly through the pages. "There's just no way . . . the guys in Washington would never . . . I mean, we don't even see this kind of money in a decade for this department!"
"Actually; I was going over the budget, as well as a few other things, and I've come up with a cost-effective and timely manner in which the whole bureau can accomplish this," Abe offered. Manning glanced over at the creature and frowned. "There may not be much left over for the petty cash fund, but that hasn't been an issue with this department, has it?"
"There are other things to consider here," Manning protested. The group looked at one another and nodded in silence. Manning sighed and rubbed his head. "I can't, I just can't do this for you."
"Then I guess it was nice working for you," Red said with a smile. He reached out, taking Liz by the hand as the two began to walk away. Abe stood and took Nuala by the arm, leading her towards the exit. "Come on, Krauss. Maybe we could use a go-between who's a stickler for the rules."
"No! Wait!" Manning shouted frantically. The group turned towards him, expectantly. Liz folded her arms, giving the man a visual warning to not be wasting their time. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and folded his hands in front of him. "If I promise to go before the guys at headquarters and give them this list in full, will you please stay until then? Please? There's still clean-up work to do with that troll-market area and there's no one else to ask."
"Perhaps we might stay and help with that much," Nuala offered. The group turned to her in surprise. "There might be some other creatures, I mean, people that might be able to take their place."
"No one could take your places, any of you!" Manning shouted frantically. Red and Abe stared at the man, both noting the genuine fear and friendship in the man's voice. Manning might have been complacent and unintelligent from time to time, but there seemed to be real respect for them at the moment. Red shook his head and looked towards Nuala. "I can give you whatever you want within reason until then, huh? How does that sound?"
"Are you still thinking he'll need our help in the near future?" he asked, not forgetting the she-elf's words when she had first arrived back at the compound. She nodded. "Well," the demon said turning back to their flustered supervisor. "I guess we could stick it out until all of us go and talk to the boys upstairs, all of us."
"All of you? But . . ." Manning began to protest. Liz allowed a flicker of flame to begin to dance above her head. Manning put up both of his hands defensively. "Alright, okay, you can arrange to come with me. Happy?"
"Getting there," Abe said with a broad grin. Red turned to him and stared at him in confusion. The fish man motioned for his friend to speak with him later.
Red nodded and waved to Manning as he headed for the door. Liz, noticing the looks between her husband and Abe. She turned to Nuala, raising one brow inquisitively. Nuala noted the girl's gaze and sensed the questions behind it. She whispered to Abe that she would meet him in the library later. The man looked at the two women and nodded with a smile. As the group left the room, Liz and Nuala strayed off to the side.
"So what's the deal, are you and Abe together or something?" she asked with guarded excitement.
Nuala smiled, a slight blush forming beneath her pale skin. "We are unified, married as it were," she said softly. "We are bound to one another for the rest of our lives."
"This doesn't mean that you're going to die when he does, or anything, does it? I mean, what does this change?" Liz asked in concerned curiosity. Nuala stared back in confusion.
"I am not sure I understand, love and unity have not changed either of us," the princess replied. Liz nodded with a relieved sigh. "At least, it has not changed us too drastically," Nuala added with a slightly uncomfortable tone. Liz turned back to her, feeling a renewed concern for both Abe and the elf. Nuala rubbed one shoulder pensively. "Elizabeth, Liz, how did you find the courage to tell your husband that you were bearing his children?"
"It wasn't courage as much as it was being sure that he wasn't going to freak out, it was timing. Your brother helped out there. I told him to get him to wake up after the blade had been . . ." Liz trailed off as a realization came to her. She turned her eyes to stare directly into the elf's. "Oh my God, are you?"
"I only have a few days, that is the way it has always been with my people," she explained sheepishly. Liz smiled brightly, wandering whether or not it would feel right to give the princess a sisterly hug. "I do fear that your superiors will be against our union and very much against us having a child. Not that we could not protect him, but I wander about how we will find a place for him that is not restraining. Elves and those of the sea must be free, after all. He will be no different."
"He? It's a boy already?" Liz asked excitedly. She took both the elf's hands in her own. While the girl had never been one for emotional displays, especially ones that involved the typical Lifetime network crying/rejoicing, but there was a female bond at the moment between them and a need to both show it and strengthen it as well."
"When should I tell him?" Nuala asked softly as two other operatives passed, speaking loudly to another agent over their communications devices. Liz smiled and looked towards the door to the library.
"How long do you have?" she asked.
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As Puck had predicted, Titania had not returned to the forest the next day. Nuada had silently sulked that the Morrighan had not shown herself either. He had returned to the clearing and called for her several times, but still had not seen or heard anything that even closely resembled her. The day after, he had done the same and even waited at the edge of the forest, sparring with an invisible enemy as he waited for one of the two. Neither appeared. On the third day, Puck informed the prince that he needed to go and show himself to Oberon and report what he had seen in the forest. He would be sure to be as vague about the prince's return as possible, but if he did not show himself soon then the faerie king would be more angry than Nuada could have ever hoped to have been. The elf had not been alone in the forest since his arrival and was quite uncomfortable with the idea of being so. Still, he needed to find out from the forest creatures where the entrance to the Faerie Ring was. Puck had been very kind to him, fetching him food and water as well as making sure that he slept every night, but he could not continue to live above ground in the forest especially while there was no one on the throne and his people were continually oppressed by the threat of humanity.
Nuada had tried to speak with various creatures for the past two days with no results. The animals either refused to speak with him because they blamed him for Titania's disappearance (word of his cruelty having spread quickly) or were too busy to spare even a moment to speak with the prince. He was angry, to say the least, but decided that such ignorance and rudeness was only to be expected from peasantry that lacked magical ability of any kind. Puck had left early in the morning, leaving the prince unattended and unfed. He sighed heavily, not wanting to allow something as trivial as hunger to overtake him again. He was unused to finding food for himself anywhere away from a marketplace. He had heard the sound of a brook when he had been reborn, perhaps there were fish.
As he had expected, he found the stream only a few minutes away from the tree-house. The dwelling had served as an acceptable home for him while he found his people. He had found the bed as acceptable as the one he had used beneath the troll market. The bedclothes and pillows had not been as luxurious, but the forest floor was even less of a comparison. He had slept well for the past three nights save for worrying whether or not he could count on the help of the magical world here across the sea. He wondered whether or not it would be a good idea to go back to what was called the Americas. The stream was a good six feet wide, and four feet deep. It seemed like more of a river than a stream to Titania, but Nuada knew well that the rivers in this land were wider and deeper by far than this. Looking carefully into the clear water, he could see several small fish swimming past.
"Not quite the size I had hoped for," he muttered as he began disrobing. His pale skin glowed brightly where the sun peeked through the branches of the trees. He breathed deeply, enjoying the warmth that kissed his flesh ever so often. Below the city he was lucky to have warmth even when a fire burned in his furnace or by the candles. He had loathed using the electricity that the other creatures had siphoned from the humans. Being honest with himself at the moment, he thought about how much more alive he felt now in this forest than he ever had beneath the city. He drew in a deep breath and waded out into the stream. "Come on, now," he said softly as he lowered both hands slowly into the water up to the elbow and waited.
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Titania waited by the window dressed in a pair of old blue jeans and a tunic composed of several pictures of seed packets. She frowned and looked out the window longingly. She had been suffering from a terrible fever accompanied by a cold for the past two days. She groaned and leaned back on the couch dramatically. Her mother had given strict instructions for the girl to be kept indoors while she went off to Milan for a design convention. Nadia had told her daughter that she had been called away to the convention for a week. Titania wouldn't have minded except that she had been imprisoned in the woman's absence. She watched Magnus walk by, glancing around at the peace in the house. Ravi strode over and flopped down beside the couch.
"Is there anything I can bring you, Titania?" Magnus asked with a tone of sympathy for the girl. He knew how much she treasured her outings into the forest, it was as much a part of who she was as her own voice. She looked away, silently sulking as the prince had done. The butler took a seat near her and smiled. "Misses Badcrumble could use some help with the apples in the kitchen, I think."
"She's way too happy about me not being allowed outside," the girl muttered. Misses Badcrumble had fussed for over a day about her symptoms and the crying she had done when coming home that night. Titania shook her head and sighed. "It wouldn't kill me to go out for a little while."
Magnus looked to the side, not wanting to deny the girl her one true joy, but also not wanting to disappoint the madam. He looked around the room for an answer, any answer to what he should do for her. He looked down into the bored face of the new addition to the family. Ravi had made himself quite comfortable in his new home, but still had a nasty tendency of getting into things that made the servants' scream and go white as sheets. A smirk crossed his face as he thought about an option in allowing Titania some time outside. He reached down and took hold of the tiger's collar. Titania watched in shock as the butler walked him over to the door and opened it.
"Be back within the hour," he said with a wink.
"Two hours," Titania countered with a smile.
The butler sighed and tapped the door. "One and a half, that is all young lady. Now go on before someone sees," he said. Titania jumped off the couch and hugged the man tightly. She headed out the door in a flash and began bounding towards the forest. "Oh Misses Badcrumble, the tiger's in the garden. Come and help me!" the man shouted back towards the kitchen as he allowed the tiger outside. The tiger, growled happily and bounded onto the grounds to explore.
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Titania had never felt so happy to be back out in the forest again. She hadn't ever really been denied access like this when she had wanted so badly to be there. She darted through the trees calling for Lewis. She was afraid to call for the prince outright, but she did want to see him again. She had innumerable questions about the magical realm for him. She had wandered through the clearing twice and out to the tree house twice as well before feeling anxious. Where could the rabbit-creature and the prince be? She sighed heavily and noticed something unusual, footprints leading away from the stairs. She smiled. They led to the east, towards the stream. They must have been at the stream. She glanced at her wristwatch and bit her lip. She had forty-five minutes now. She would need to move quickly. Following the footprints, she made her way out to the stream with her heart beginning to thunder rapidly. As she found herself standing several feet away from the shore, she felt her heart beat all the faster at the sight of the prince waist deep in the stream.
The prince's exquisite hearing caught the sound of her approach and her breathing. He turned and stared at her for a moment. He frowned and turned back to the stream, staying very still and quiet. Titania inched forward, trying to get a better look at what the prince was doing. He raised his upper lip in a silent snarl and turned his head slightly to glare more angrily towards her. It was a silent warning to stay put. To his surprise, she only hesitated, but then continued to move forward.
"Come any closer, girl-child, and you will suffer for it," he warned in a low tone. Titania froze. He smirked. "Much better."
"What are you doing?" she asked softly. He growled at her insistence. The annoyance was short lived as a large fish swam right past his left hand. He shouted happily as he grasped it in the water. Droplets splashed here and there as he gripped it tightly and began to toss it onto the shore. He turned and stared at Titania who, despite blushing with embarrassment at this sight, was still staring at him in awe. "You're beautiful."
"An astute observation," he remarked. "Turn your head." Titania simply stared back, unmoving, in unbreakable awe. He sighed and drew in a deep breath. "I said, turn your head, human girl."
"Oh!" she exclaimed with realization. She whirled around and placed both hands on the trunk of a tree, breathing heavily as the prince waded to the shore. He climbed back onto the shore, watching the fish for a moment as he gathered his clothes and began to dress once again. "I take it that Lewis isn't here. I was wondering where you two were since you weren't at the tree-house."
"His name is Puck, girl, not Lewis. I do believe I was relieved at thinking you were not going to return until I had left," he said angrily as he straightened the belt. He dressed from the waist down, still wanting total freedom in the movements of his arms and shoulders. Titania frowned. He must have still been angry at her for referring to him as a demon. Complimenting him now would not make up for that. She sighed as he strode over to her, now carrying the fish. "Why have you returned?"
"I wanted to see you again, and I can't stay away from the forest. It's like my home," she said as she stared up into his eyes. He turned and laughed.
"Your home? Clearly your parents never taught you about the truce betwixt mankind and elfkind; the forests, girl, belong to the elves and the elves alone. Man was to remain in his cities where he belonged," the prince explained. "Speaking thusly, you are quite young for a human, are you not? Where are your mother and father? Do they know that you are speaking with the enemy?"
"Enemy?" Titania asked in bewilderment. She shook her head. Nuada had asked her a question and she hadn't answered it. She needed to remember better manners in the presence of magical royalty. She nodded her head to him. "My mom is in Italy on business, your highness, and my dad is in New Jersey doing his job."
"And you live on your own while they are off on their own? Peculiar circumstances for a young girl. It must make their union all the more difficult," he mused. "I've never understood the human obsession with finding a mate, but at least yours have worked through some sort of barrier that allows them enough freedom to survive one another without suffocation."
Titania glared at him. "My parents are divorced," she said angrily. Nuada froze and turned to her. "They split up when I was like three."
"Oh," he said looking away sheepishly. He had never had a conversation with a human before, it made no sense to speak with someone that you intended to kill. Nuada knew that he couldn't kill this girl himself. There were many humans that he could not bring himself to slay, but that was why he needed an army. Mercy, in the face of destruction, was weakness. "And you live with your mother because you are female?"
"No, because dad works too much to take care of me," she said. Titania looked down and shook her head. She couldn't believe she was sharing something so personal with an elf prince. This was definitely not a fairytale. "Look, I didn't want to talk about that, your highness. I wanted to ask you a few questions about the magical world."
"Ask then," he said as he knelt and took out a small dagger that had been on the belt of the shogun uniform. Titania narrowed her eyes in confusion as the prince pulled a flat rock to him and set the fish on it. "But I do not intend to answer."
"But, your highness, I don't think I'll ever get to see . . ." she began. Her voice disappeared as the elf slid the knife's point effortlessly into the fish's belly and began sliding it forward. Titania felt herself getting queasy as he made a perfectly smooth incision from one end of the fish to the other. Her stomach turned fully as he grasped it by the mouth and ripped the innards free of the meat. The girl turned and vomited by a tree, coughing and gagging. The prince smirked and finished dressing the creature. "Oh, gross, that's disgusting!"
"It is skill, you mean," he corrected. He stood and carried the fish bones and insides into the river. Titania gasped in horror. He scoffed at her and walked back over to the rock. "His kin will clean up after him."
"You're going to cook that, right?" she asked almost afraid of the answer.
"Why?" he said sitting on the ground in front of the rock. "It has already been slain. Why would I injure it further?"
"Raw fish?!" she exclaimed in horror. The elf shook his head and stared down at the fresh dressed catch. "Well, I guess it's not any different than sushi. Hey! That was something I wanted to ask you; you're dressed like a shogun, do the elves come from Japan? I've always heard that they were from the northern parts of Europe, but you seem to behave, move, dress, and eat Japanese."
"I do not understand most of what you are saying," he continued as he began to cut a piece away from the fish. "That is, as a general rule, because I try not to. I am sparing your life, girl, out of the kindness of my heart. It is quite limited, you see, so I bid you good day and order you not to return."
Titania turned away as he began eating the fish. She gulped and took a few deep breaths. "Your highness, I really want to ask you some things about your people," she urged. "And I am sorry that I called you a demon, it was rude and very disrespectful."
"A human's apology is worth less than their promises," he muttered, finishing one of the halves. "Still, you did not do any real harm."
"Then you forgive me, your highness?" she said excitedly.
"Hardly," he replied looking at the final sliver of the fish in his hand. Before he could raise it to his lips, a small flash of black feathers swooped past him, snatching the fish in its path. "Argh!" he cried out in surprise. He stood slowly as the Morrighan settled on a branch and swallowed the fish. He bowed his head and watched as she transformed. Titania gasped and took a step backwards. "Lady Morrighan."
"Prince," she said looking at him angrily. Titania remained very still as the Morrighan walked to her and turned her away from him. "You are indecent, clothe yourself in the presence of ladies."
He scowled, striding slowly over to the tunic and over-shirt and slipping them on carefully. As soon as he had finished, the sorceress turned Titania back to him, keeping her hands on the girl's shoulders. "I see that you have not begun the quest. That is disappointing, but your companion has returned. Though I hardly think I shall allow you to continue if you have refused to accept the assistance for three days."
"It's not his fault, my lady," Titania interjected quickly. Both the elf and the sorceress turned to her in shock. Titania felt her voice grow very thin and hoarse in the presence of yet another powerful magical being. She had read about a woman-creature by the name Morrighan, also called the Washer at the Ford. She was the Angel of Death, the Valkyries, and Athena all rolled into one. Titania began to tremble slightly. "That is, I was sick for the past few days."
"Indeed," the woman said as she turned back to her nephew. "And what have you to say to this? She is well, will you accept my tasks?"
"I will not," Nuada replied firmly. The Morrighan glared at him, hissing with her eyes. He turned away. "The humans are destroying the earth by the minute, my lady. Who will stop them if not I? I have been the only creature alive willing to take action to save it."
"Is that so?" the Morrighan laughed. Nuada looked away, knowing that Morrighan had some sort of trick up her sleeve meant to prove him wrong. She laughed and patted Titania's shoulder. She turned the girl to face her and looked deeply into the girl's eyes. "I have given the prince three tasks to complete if he wishes to find the entranceway to his home. I have seen your heart, you will aide him if he will accept." Titania nodded. The Morrighan smiled and glanced towards her nephew skeptically. "If the prince agrees to do so within a fortnight, then I shall return to him his proper clothing and weapon."
Nuada froze. This was an offer he truly couldn't refuse. He would be clad in his own garments again instead of constantly being surrounded by the feel and smell of humans. His spear was also part of the bargain, something that made him feel complete and safe. He sighed heavily and turned to the woman, frustrated at her ability to manipulate beings to do her bidding by holding something so precious over their head. She chuckled and took her hands away from the girl.
"I can be assured of this?" he asked cautiously.
"Can you?" the Morrighan laughed. She twirled around once, her cloak changing to wings. "I will look in on you tomorrow, Nuada. The eclipse grows nearer. Complete the first task and you will have your gear once again."
"Before the task is completed," he argued. "I will not face another being dressed like a human."
"That didn't seem to bother you before," she mused and fluttered away. "Good luck, Titania! Keep him guessing!"
The girl watched as the woman-bird flew off into the distance. Nuada sighed heavily and turned back to the girl. "I suppose you expect me to tell you what needs to be done and that I require your assistance?" he asked scornfully. Titania said nothing as she stared back at him. "Get used to denials, human girl, you will hear 'no' many times in your life for greater requests than this."
"I can help you, your highness," she said softly. He turned and stared at her in confusion. She wasn't taking the insults personally, running away crying, or screaming reprimands at him. This was all very unusual for a human. "I can do things and I've read many books about this forest and some of your people."
"It is not a matter of can you do this, girl, it is should you do this," the prince said. "And you do not seem wise enough to know the difference."
"Does that mean that you'll be teaching me as we go along?" she asked hopefully. He frowned and shook his head. Before he could make any further arguments, the girl glanced at her watch and gasped. "Oh no! I need to be home in six minutes!" She darted back towards the mansion, calling back to him. "I'll be back tomorrow morning, I promise!"
"Wonderful," the prince muttered sarcastically. If there was one thing worse than a human with power it was a human with insatiable curiosity.
Titania raced back to the mansion, slipping on a fallen twig only once, but otherwise without any delays. As she reached the edge of the forest, she saw five of the servants with Magnus and Misses Badcrumble out on the grounds with various objects for defense; plastic rakes, a wooden shovel, a butterfly net. Titania stared at this in confusion as she walked towards the door leading into the dining room. Misses Badcrumble spotted the girl as she reached for the handle.
"Go back inside, Titania, we'll find him," the old woman said breathlessly. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty! Here kitty, kitty!"
Titania frowned and swallowed hard. In an effort to give her some time in the forest, Magnus had lost Ravi. Then again the butler may have been looking for an excuse to get the tiger out of the house no matter what. She shook her head as she went up the stairs and into her room. She climbed onto her bed, taking the book that she had borrowed from her father out of her backpack. She stared at the cover and flipped through the pages once again. She could barely make out the pictures and words except that they showed magical creatures, elves included, and men living together and then apart. She frowned and flipped through to the last page. A small piece of paper dropped onto her lap. It was written in Abe's hand, and appeared to be fairly new. It read:
Page 17 Translation:
Gather around and this shall tell, of the prince whose heart broke with a spell. Contained within a silver vial, while the prince was but a child. Into his cradle goblins crept, and promptly cursed him as he slept. When the sun did next arise, midnight stained his lips and eyes. His shattered heart beat like a sieve, and only gave enough to live. The fair queen mourned to the moon above, for now he could not harbour love. But the Modron spoke to ease her heart, "No spirit can never love impart. And if love but for a moment finds, sorrow in his wounded mind, desperation's healing is, the purity in . . ."
link between princess and brother?
cure for a curse? –missing sentence needs to be found
Titania looked over the paper a few more times. This was the story that Puck had told her, at least the beginning of it. Had the group back in New Jersey heard of Nuada and the elves? She entertained the idea of calling and asking, but decided for now that the group had bigger things to think about than fairytales come to life. She sighed and set the book down. Perhaps the prince would be able to translate the rest of the book and tell her what it was about. She would have to take it to him in the morning to have a better look at it. She smiled brightly, blushing at thinking of the sight of the prince in the stream. He was actually quite handsome now that she had seen him in broad daylight and without being terrified or worried. She sighed and laid back. It was only natural to feel somewhat of an infatuation for a prince of any kind. She would just have to remind herself that he was heir to the throne of the magical realm, not someone to bring home and think about seriously. That would be difficult enough if he refrained from insulting her any more. Even so, she thought, he does have beautiful eyes.
